About

Bernard Haitink was the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's chief conductor from 1961-88, and was named honorary conductor in 1999.

This album features his 2010 live Johannes Brahms recordings with Emanuel Ax (Piano Concerto No. 1) and Frank Peter Zimmermann (Violin Concerto). A brand new studio recording of Robert Schumann's Piano Quartet with Emanuel Ax and RCO principals Vesko Eschkenazy, Henk Rubingh and Gregor Horsch is offered as a makeweight.

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Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77

I. Allegro non troppo

II. Adagio

III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace

Robert Schumann: Piano Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 47

I. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo

II. Scherzo: Molto vivace

III. Andante cantabile

IV. Finale: Vivace

Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15

I. Maestoso

II. Adagio

III. Rondo: Allegro non troppo

Reviews

September 2017

****

“A born Brahmsian, Ax gives full rein to the sheer massiveness of the First Piano Concerto, producing a performance of range and depth, intimately captured in this recording…the estimable Frank Peter Zimmermann is soloist in a blazing, flawless live performance of Brahms’s Violin Concerto…his high-tension, heroic style is matched by crisp precision from the orchestra”

Classical Music

July 2017

*****

“[Zimmermann's] newer version [of the Brahms] has even more verve, the supple sweetness of his playing matching the burnished orchestral sound Haitink coaxes from his players. Ax too is hugely convincing in the dark storm of the D minor concerto, letting every note unfold naturally, pacing and colouring every phrase with warmth and authority”

Diapason

May 2017

*****

“[Zimmermann’s] Brahms is not only an example of technical and musical mastery, but above that demonstrates an intelligent stylistic organisation with, here and there, subtle portamentos, a marvellously nuanced sound production and a radiant vibrato…it is the same with Emanuel Ax…[whose] performance is perfect unity between high mastery and powerful emotion”

June 2017

“Haitink’s enduring association with this music ensures that every gesture has a naturalness to it, drawing out an oboe line here, a clarinet phrase there. Temperamentally, Frank Peter Zimmermann is on exactly the same wavelength, finding a balance between heart and head…there’s so much colour from the orchestral players and so much variety of touch in Ax’s playing [in the Piano Concerto] that the result is constantly engaging”